Horses recued from a Wisconsin farm graze on a hill at the Catskill...

Catskill Animal Sanctuary Director Kathy Stevens greets one of the 10 miniature horses rescued from a Wisconsin farm and now being rehabilitated at the Saugerties site. ( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union )

Catskill Animal Sanctuary Director Kathy Stevens greets one of the...

Miniature horses recued from a Wisconsin farm graze on a hill at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties. The animals Director Kathy Stevens took in had plenty of room to roam in Wisconsin, but still have problems with their hooves, as well as having worms and bad teeth.
(Michael P. Farrell/Times Union )

SAUGERTIES -- Kathy Stevens has a message for those looking to adopt an animal from a shelter.

"Do your homework," she said. "Just Google the shelter's name."

Stevens, the founder of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, took in 10 miniature horses, a pony and 10 chickens last week, just a small portion of some 400 animals that were seized from a woman in Wisconsin who ran a so-called rescue organization by herself.

"She's a textbook hoarder," Stevens said about the woman.

Stevens heard about the Wisconsin case through shelter contacts, and flew out there last Monday night, Nov. 1, to drive back some animals with a horse transportation company. Moving the horses to Saugerties cost her $2,200, she said.

The trip was the farthest she has ever gone to rescue animals, she said, other than the time she went to Kansas City, Mo. to rescue 40 chickens from a crystal meth lab.

What she found in Wisconsin were some 90 horses, 30 dogs, 30 goats, sheep, llamas, and about 100 other animals including parrots, foxes and geese.

The animals taken in had plenty of room to roam in Wisconsin, she said, but have problems with their hooves, have worms and bad teeth.

"And they're terrified of us," she said, adding that once the miniature horses become accustomed to people, she'll find homes for them.

On Saturday afternoon, Stevens sat in the fenced-off field where the miniature horses and one pony roamed as she cooed for them to come closer.

"Everybody's doing a good job," she said as the small horses, which are about the size of a large dog, approached any of the five humans in the field.

She can't yet tell if any of the chickens are sick, she said, but would take fecal samples to find out. On Saturday, Stevens collected the same samples from the horses, which will be tested for disease.

There are plenty of other animals left in Wisconsin, she said, including 3,000-pound draft horses. She said if anyone is interested in adopting those, she can put them in touch with the right people.

But Stevens said the Wisconsin woman's situation is not an isolated incident. Stevens' sanctuary has been open since 2001, she said, and most of the animals she has taken in have come from animal hoarding situations that often mask themselves as shelters or rescue groups.

"If you came to this place and I was the only one here and there were 125 horses there, would anything register with you?" she said. "It's not physically possible for one human being to care for hundreds and hundreds of animals."

She said hoarding situations often keep animals in bad health, are overcrowded and have few staff.

"A reputable sanctuary does a lot of outreach," she said. She also lamented that "it's way too easy to become a non-profit," explaining how some problematic shelters or sanctuaries are able to appear more legitimate.

Animal shelters are not regulated by any government agency, and while Stevens said becoming a non-profit took a lot of paperwork, no one checks up on her or other shelters regularly.

Before she opened the sanctuary, she said she toured animal sanctuaries throughout the East Coast, and while she gained a wealth of knowledge from some, she found many in bad shape.

"Most of them should have been shut down," she said.

Her experience should be a lesson about doing research -- not only to those looking to adopt an animal, but to those who donate to shelters and those looking to surrender an animal, she said.

With today's economic woes, Stevens said, the amount of those adopting animals has decreased, while the numbers of abandoned animals at shelters has risen.

"In this economy, shelters could certainly use the support," she said. "But do a little research."